Owl Chronicles:

Observations of an Eastern Screech Owl's nest:Having discovered an Eastern Screech Owls nest,on Friday June 2,Ive been back as often as I can to view the parents with the hopes of a glimpse of one or more baby.
To go back,Saturday I saw the female Owl leave the nest for the first time,giving me hopes of seeing something in the tree cavity. To my delight almost immediately an obvious Owlet took the mother's place. It was fairly advanced and had only a little down on its forehead/head area.Wow I was thrilled. This confirmed indeed Id found a nest.
Sunday,I was over to the park at 7am
7am Arrive and find the male,who I have named Newfie,in the nest hole. When an American Crow in a nearby tree starts kaaing,Newfie ducked back into the nest.
7:10am Newfie(male) leaves nest for a pine tree nearby.He stays there almost the entire day,moving elsewhere while I was paying attention to the female,who Ive named Rusty as she is a Red-phase(morph) Screech Owl.
8:15am A Common Grackle comes near the nest and is calling,Rusty(female) stuck her head out of the nest cavity and the other bird flys off.
8:40am A Black Squirrel climbs the limb of the nest tree,so Rusty came right out of the hole to warn off the intruder. She mantled and tried to look as big as she could to intimidate the squirrel..it worked.
10am Rusty(female) is peering out of the nest,very intently staring down almost directly below the nest in the grass.
10:20 Rusty dives to the ground,appearing to have hunted,when a Blue Jay harrasses her and she flys in the same stand of pines the male is in.
An Owlet pokes its head out of the nest cavity,it is much more down covered then the first young one I saw.woohooo at least 2 babies!
12:45pm Rusty flew back into the nest.
2:00pm Rusty flys into the Maple tree above us.(friends Lynty and Carol met me at the park today)
330pm-4pm Various birds harrass Rusty at her perch.
515pm-6pm A squirrel starts up the nest tree,alert to this Chris,his wife Linda and myself watch Rusty to see if she is going to fly into the nest. To our dismay,the squirrel began to enter the hole. Only the did Rusty dive into the nest,almost appearing to grab hold of the squirrels backside as she entered. Mere seconds seemed like hours b4 our "National Geographic moment" ended,with the squirrel making a hasty,dissheveled exit from the nest cavity. I was quite concerned for the young owlets,so was hoping that some sign would be given that the young were fine. Rusty didnt look upset or concerned and eventually left the nest again. As she did,an Owlet popped into view at the entrance to the hole,the rather downy one. With confirmation the babies were ok,I was off for dinner! A great day,full of adventure and surprises. I had many photo ops,and soon as I get those back I will be sure and let U know.

After an incredible day of viewing last Tuesday,I have not seen the Screech Owl family at all. Given the range which I learned from an online page,the range is 6-16hectares(which means nothing to me really) but given the size of the park and its location they wont have moved far either way even if they have left the park.
Today I saw a friend Carol who has enjoyed seeing the owls with me,and she informed me that she saw one of the adult Screech Owls in a pine tree in the park on Thursday,which is great news. She took me to the tree,so now I have another area to check thoroughly on each visit. Its great to know they are still around,and I have some hope of seeing them.

I arrived at the park around 7am,and found no owls at all,either in the nest or in spots Id seen the adults perch b4.(apparently my eyes werent open then either) It happens to all of us sometimes,I sat on a bench,which faces away from the "nest",checking over my shoulder frequently to see if an owl had filled the hole. For 90minutes none did.

8:30am I hear a Blue Jay alarm calling,and go to investigate. I soon see the 2 adult Screech Owls,side by side,sort of nuzzling each other. I look above them "one level" and see a sorta gray,mass. For more then a moment I thought to myself..ah just an old wasp nest...but then hey they dont build in pine trees! It was the backside of 2 Screech Owlets. Sometime overnite,or early in the morning both Fledglings! had made their maiden flights. They sat side by side on the same branch. I set out to find a spot where I could get a frontal view of the owlets,and after moving all over I found a spot,at a very respectable distance to view the ohhh sooooo cute baby Screech Owls. They sometimes sat back to back leaning against each other sleeping peacefully,despite calls of Jays,Grackles,Robins,Baltimore Orioles and even a pair of Great Crested Flycathers. I guess even the avian crowd at the gardens wanted to see the owl family.
I tried my best to take some photos,again from a decent distance,such that while I will have a record of this sighting,they could well have no more value then that.(which sometimes is the best thing). Seeing these sites,I did hope Tim would show up again,and eventually he did. With his fine equipment,Im sure some beautiful shots were achieved.
Rusty(the mama) moved from a nearby limb,to perch with the owlets. She preened them abit,and just sat close. Both owlets,were sometimes alert,and checking out their new surroundings,with big beautiful eyes opened wide...sometimes their eyes seemed to almost look human. Both seemed very downy still,but in different light U could see colour in their chest. Rusty flew off,not far but out of our view,leaving Newfie to tend to the kids. He sat guard very nearby. The owlets preened each other briefly. Rusty flew back into a pine next to the one the rest of the family was in,and that is how we left them. Ive no real idea if I will be able to re-locate the family now that the young are cleared for take-off,but I will look around and do my best,without intruding upon them. Without the squawking Jay,Id never have seen the owl family today...I owe that Blue Jay. What a thrilling day!
[Tims Baby Owls]

I arrived abit late to the park today,and couldnt find an owl at all. Finally at 945am Rusty appeared at the nesthole.
10:30am Rusty flew out of the nest,unknown wheree.
NOON:Rusty flew into a nearby pine tree just left of the nest.
At this point I was beginning to believe that with such little action,no report would be necessary.
12:55pm Friend Tim arrives with the big guns(his large camera lens)
1:40pm Rusty flys from pine into the nest.
1:45pm Rusty flew out of the nest,and soon the owlet still very down covered stood in the nest cavity for a good long photo op for both Tim and I.
Tim and I were both thrilled with this,and he said "that was wonderful,Ive never seen anything like that b4 in my life."